Overnight Success – Finally!

I have been up and down and back and forth about being able to cloth diaper overnight. At first I didn’t think there was any way it could possibly work. I tried some things; I failed with some things. I was hopeful, then I wanted to give up. What worked with a younger infant couldn’t keep up with an older baby sleeping 11 hours at a time. As my daughter grew I made a couple of minor tweaks along the way to come up with my perfect nighttime diapering regimen. My solution is a trim, leak-free overnight diaper and one tiny, little tip that has helped with smells, stains and my quest to keep my washing routine simple.

bumGenius One Size pocket diapers are THE nighttime diaper in my house. The fit, the fabric, the pocket, everything about them makes them the perfect, adaptable overnight diaper. However, the single micro-terry insert that I use without fail during the day just didn’t cut it for nighttime. For awhile I was able to add the smaller doubler that’s included with the purchase of the diaper, but as my daughter grew this combination didn’t hold up for us and would leak overnight. After doing some research I decided to give hemp inserts a try. They are very thin and have natural properties that fight bacteria and odor build-up. I purchased a couple of BabyKicks Hemparoo JoeyBunz inserts and have been so impressed with the performance.

However, I’ve found that though the hemp inserts absorb an incredible amount, they don’t absorb as quickly. Therefore, I use the micro-terry insert/doubler that comes with the bumGenius One Size pockets diapers as the layer closest to her body in the pocket with the hemp insert under that. We haven’t had any issues with leaks and the diapers really aren’t much bulkier than the ones she wears every day because the hemp is so thin and trim.

While I finally conquered the overnight leaks, I realized the micro-terry inserts I used overnight were taking a beating. Overnight diapers obviously aren’t changed as frequently as daytime diapers so the odor and bacteria has some time to settle in. These inserts were tougher to clean, had some discoloration and staining and would carry an odor even after regular washing. To make it easier on my washing routine, and the rest of my inserts that didn’t necessarily need more frequent stripping or bleaching, I decided to designate 3-4 diapers as “overnight” diapers. I put a little stitch of pink (of course, pink!) thread on the inserts and pockets of only those diapers that I would use for overnight. This way I can keep a close eye on these diapers and wash them more frequently than the others. I’ve previously spoken of my lack of enthusiasm for bleach, but I have found that a periodic bleaching of the overnight inserts (only the micro-terry) really helps to freshen them up and keep the odors at a minimum. With my little stitch method I can do these 3-4 inserts on their own without having to punish the whole lot of micro-terry inserts. And really why should the whole bunch suffer for the faults of the 3-4 troublemakers? Anyone with siblings knows what I’m talking about here!

28 comments:

I've never had a leak with THiRSTiES fab fitteds couple with a duo wrap overnight for our daughter and Kissaluvs Marvels with duo wrap for overnight use for our toddler son who is heavy wetter….no inserts or doublers necessary.

Thanks for the info, we have overnight issues too! My son almost weights 18 pounds at 14 months and filling him up is really hard. He usually nurses at least once during the night if not twice and because of this I have to change him in the middle of the night or he ends up soaked. Sometimes I think he wakes up because he is wet. Right now because of money we use prefolds and recycled wool covers, but if I ever want to sleep again I may have to invest in some new diapers.

Oh my gosh, what a fantastic idea! I too, have noticed that the inserts from the overnight dipes are stinkier. I can smell it as soon as I walk into my DD's room in the morning, yuk! I love it and just might steal it, hope that's ok?!

haha…Thank you for that – it was very informative and I love the way your write! I right now am still using the bum genius insert and the doubler (infant insert) for night time, but now I know how to solve it when it no longer works… thanks!

Our nighttime solution is similar to yours. We always use Bum Genius 3.0's but with Knickernappies SuperDo inserts. They are really SUPER!!! I have only two white diapers, so I have designated those as my nighttime diapers. They are my least favorite, so it works out well to use them at night.

YAY! for success!! We had a similar battle and ended up settling on Drybees Fleece Pockets for our night diapers. We double stuffed them with 2 full size micro terry inserts and that did the trick. It was a bit bulky, but heck, it's bedtime – so her mobility really wasn't an issue, and they still fit in her jammies just fine. I liked the fleece because they breathed better than the PUL pockets – and overnight diaper rash/irritation stopped when we switched!!

I've never tried the BGs – but I always hear such good things about them! And I like the idea about marking the overnight inserts so you can keep them separate.

I've never braved using bleach. All of the washing sites say NO NO NO when it comes to bleach on your cloth. We found that an overnight soak in Rockin' Green does the trick for stinky inserts and diapers. We just started using it and I LOVE how clean my diapers are.

I never thought about the importance of putting the hemp under the micro terry since it doesn't absorb as fast, but I'll have to try it! We've had some problems with overnight leaking even when the inserts aren't completely wet. Maybe the problem is that I've been putting hemp on top! Thanks!aboverubies15 at yahoo dot com

This is the exact same overnight solution we have found! I designated my green and yellow BG's to be the night ones. Now if I could just sew…. I might take a few inserts home to my mom to sew thread on to designate as the night dipes. What a good idea!

I totally agree with BGOS Pockets being THE nighttime diaper- they are in our house! But I had the same problem with finding what to stuff it with that didn't leak. I finally found some Hempbabies Bigger Weeds and used 1 as an insert and we were bone dry the next morning. 12 hours later!

Normally you'd fold them in 3rd, but since my LO is on the smallest setting folding this way is too long, so I fold in 3rd then fold down the top a bit to put in the front. Stuff the pocket and voila!

I love the we are thinking the same thing! Nighttime cloth diapering seems to be a stumbling block for many cloth diaper moms. I've added a few good solutions on my blog. Please add yours to the comments. You can link back to your post 😉

Great tips! I finally came up with a similar solution with my little guy. I use BG pockets stuffed with the large microfiber insert & a bamboo prefold from Bamboo bums. I like the hemp idea, though. It would be trimmer. I too find that it is very important to put the microfiber closest to baby & the bamboo under that.

I'm so glad to find all the advice on night diapering. My 3 mo old has had several leaks at night but I haven't been using any booster inserts. Even if he doesn't leak it seems to wake him when he is wet. This didn't happen with disposables. Anyone else have this problem? Or a solution?